


The Swan Prinxe

by lorspolairepeluche



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Childhood Friends, Childhood Sweethearts, F/M, Multi, Other, The Swan Princess AU, because guess whose au-making gears started grinding while in nostalgia mode the other day
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-02
Updated: 2017-05-17
Packaged: 2018-10-27 02:38:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10799967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lorspolairepeluche/pseuds/lorspolairepeluche
Summary: the three of them have a love that will last far longer than forever, much stronger than forever





	1. The Prinxe

Once upon a time, a king died. He left only one heir: his daughter Hannah. Still, the succession seemed assured; the new queen had a young daughter of her own. Princess Sonya was beloved by everyone who knew her; she charmed all and sundry with her bright smile and quick laugh and boundless compassion.

But in the neighboring kingdom, the king’s heir was undetermined. King Emilio had no wife—but his sister was pregnant. When she bore a son, the kingdom erupted into rejoicing. Visitors came from all over the continent—including Queen Hannah and Princess Sonya—to pay respects to King Emilio’s new heir, the infant Prince James. Behind closed doors, Hannah and Emilio agreed—Sonya and James would be betrothed, and to assure that it would not be an unhappy arranged marriage, the two children would spend their summers together from the time that James was five. Emilio and Hannah hoped that their children would fall in love.

But unknown to either Emilio or Hannah was a plot—a plot by the evil enchanter known only by the title Illusive Man. He planned to take advantage of the young Hannah’s tenuous hold on her throne and take the kingdom for himself.

The Illusive Man had underestimated the young queen, however, and as soon as she learned of the plan, she personally led a force to destroy the Illusive Man’s lair and thwart his plot on her life. Some said it was womanish pity that led Hannah to only banish the Illusive Man rather than execute him. Others said it was a noble refusal to cause more bloodshed, despite the Illusive Man’s threats to return and take her kingdom and everything else from her. Whichever it was, the kingdom was once again peaceful under the kind and just reign of Queen Hannah.

And four years later, Hannah and Sonya traveled to the neighboring kingdom to once again meet Prince James.

—

“Your Majesty.” Hannah curtsied before she allowed Emilio to approach, smiling broadly, and kiss her on the cheek. “I trust you are well. And—oh, who might this strapping young man be?”

The boy at Emilio’s side watched Hannah and the girl next to her suspiciously. “This is our Prince James,” Emilio said, nudging his nephew forward. “James?”

James glanced at his uncle before making a somewhat clumsy bow. “Welcome to our kingdom, Queen Hannah and Princess Sonya,” he recited.

“James,” Emilio prompted once more.

James screwed up his face and reached for Sonya’s hand, kissing it quickly before letting go of it as if it were covered in slime and retreating to Emilio’s side.

Emilio let out a sigh and gave Hannah an apologetic smile. “He’ll warm to her, I’m sure.”

—

That summer was filled with bloody noses and split lips—most belonging to James. Sonya only gave an innocent, doe-eyed look to Hannah and looked away primly when her mother sternly asked her what had happened. By September, James was glad to see her go.

—

The third summer, Sonya did not come. Instead, a child Sonya’s age arrived, calling themself Duke and wearing a short hairstyle more like a boy’s. That summer was also the first that James could ignore Duke in favor of a different playmate: Jack, adoptive daughter of the captain of the guard. They spent the summer ahead of Duke, laughing at them and yanking the rope ladder to the treehouse up whenever Duke reached for it.

Duke still managed to give James three bloody noses before the summer was over.

—

Summer after summer, their strange, antagonistic friendship grew. Jack warmed to Duke the second summer she knew them, insisting to a reluctant James that Duke be included in the treehouse club. The years wore on, and Duke let their hair grow out again. James never could beat them in a fight.

—

James was fifteen the first time he kissed Jack. It was an impulsive move the day before Duke arrived for the summer. For the first several weeks, Duke was left in the dark as to why Jack wasn’t with them as usual. James wouldn’t tell them why, and Duke knew he knew why, and their relationship soured once again.

It wasn’t until the day before Duke left that James admitted why Jack had only arrived for their summer-long playdate at the end of July. Duke burst out laughing and made him promise not to tell Emilio and Hannah—they had kissed Jack _several_ times the previous summer.

James managed to stammer out a request: “Can I kiss you?”

Duke only laughed and told him, “Maybe next summer.”

—

As it turned out, the next summer, Duke was sick. The mood in both kingdoms was tense—if this illness took their Duke away from them, where would that leave the marriage plans and the succession?

James wrote letter after letter to them, even though he never received one back. He told them that their favorite pear blossoms were coming in nicely and that there would likely be a large, juicy harvest that year. _I’ll eat some for you,_ he promised. He sent them a pendant in the shape of a small golden heart. He did _not_ tell them that he and Jack had tried sleeping together.

Finally, in September, the news came that Duke was recovering. The prognosis was good. Duke would live.

James received a letter the very next day. _Mother would read me your letters,_ Duke told him. _They always made me feel a little better. Thank you._

James was even more relieved that he had chosen not to tell Duke about his blossoming relationship with Jack.

—

“Uncle!” James protested, even as he let Emilio shove him toward the presence chamber. He’d been forced to dress up in his best clothes— _why_ —to meet Duke for the first time in two years. “It’s just Duke!” he insisted. “Why do I need to dress like this?”

“Because this is _the_ summer,” Emilio reminded him. “If you and Duke both agree, you’ll be officially engaged.”

“Does it have to be so damn formal?” James looked over his shoulder at Jack, pleading with his eyes, but she only shook her head, laughing silently.

Emilio gave James one last shove, and before James could stop it, the door slammed behind him. At least Jack had snuck in at the last second. She watched him pace, highly amused. “You are _really_ trying to work yourself up, aren’t you, Prince?” she asked.

“Shut up,” James grumbled back.

All too quickly, the door on the opposite side of the room opened, and there was Duke.

Their hair was cut short again, their outfit a strange—but somehow fitting—combination of a knee-length white shirt and black leggings under a pink corset. They put their hands on their hips and smiled when they saw James. “Well, you’ve filled out,” they said.

Had James forgotten or just never realized how gorgeous Duke really was? Those big brown eyes that had always gotten Duke out of trouble were set perfectly over a straight nose and a smiling mouth. They were still nearly a foot shorter than James, but he had the suspicion they could still defeat him with sword, fists, or bow any day. Somehow, that only made his heart—and his face—feel warmer.

“Jack,” Duke greeted. “Keeping him out of trouble?”

“Leading him into it,” Jack corrected with a grin as Duke leaned down to kiss them.

Duke smiled and patted Jack’s cheek after they broke the kiss. “As always.” They turned their smile on James. “Sorry about last summer. Fevers really mess with plans, don’t they?”

“Ah—yeah. Yeah, they do,” James stuttered, feeling Duke’s and Jack’s grins both on him. “It’s—it’s nice to see you again.”

“It’s good to see you too.” Duke was coming toward him, but James’s feet were frozen to the ground. Duke was standing on tiptoe, but James’s body wouldn’t do anything he told it to.

Duke’s lips were pressed against his, and James’s mind was spinning.

—

That summer was the most glorious the three of them had ever spent together—kissing in corners, horseback riding together, sparring with blunted steel. They were once again inseparable for the last three months before their adulthood began.

The ball at the end of the summer almost surprised them with how quickly it arrived. The guests watched reverently as James and Duke waltzed, even as Jack grinned uncontrollably at them from the side. The violins drew out one last, long note, and Duke and James leaned toward each other…

Their audience erupted into applause as they kissed. “Arrange the wedding!” James shouted, riding high on exhilaration, after they broke apart.

“Wait.”

James looked back at Duke. “What?”

“James…can I ask you something?”

“Anything,” he promised.

“Why do you love me?”

James stared at them, dumbfounded. “What? I…” He glanced around, bewildered, unable to figure out how to even _start_ answering that question. “I mean, you’re—you’re all I ever wanted. I mean—you’re—you’re beautiful!”

“That’s wonderful and all—but what else?” Duke prompted.

“What else?” James repeated.

“Is that all that matters to you?” Duke demanded.

James looked to Jack, trying to beg _help me_ with his eyes, but she only shook her head, looking as disappointed as Duke. “What else—is there?” he blurted.

He knew he’d said the wrong thing as soon as Duke’s face lost even its anger. “‘What else is there’?” Duke repeated. “My god, James.”

He almost wished they whirled on their heel and stormed away from him. But their turn was a slow one, their tread suddenly tired, and Jack was shaking her head in disgust and following Duke, and James’s regret was too intense to call Duke back.

—

They left that night, just before the storm began. James stood in the front hall and unblinkingly watched the lightning flash, numb all over, barely aware of Jack stopping next to him and punching his shoulder before silently watching with him.

“Write to them, Prince,” Jack said after a few minutes. “That can’t have been all you had to say to them.”

“Of course it wasn’t!” James answered, finally snapping from his trance. “They’re beautiful, sure, but…”

“You do love them, don’t you?”

“God, yes. With all of me.”

“Then tell them why.”

“You know I’m not good with words.”

“Well, I know why _I_ love them,” Jack said matter-of-factly. “I love them for every time they gave you a bloody nose.”

“You’re not gonna believe this, but so do I.” James managed his first laugh since Duke’s departure. He hoped it was genuine enough, but his hopes were dashed when Jack gave him a sad look and leaned against his shoulder.

The door crashed open, and James and Jack jumped apart to see a man in armor fall flat on the ground as thunder drummed a death knell.

Jack recognized him first from hundreds of conversations with him and her father. “Prince, it’s Queen Hannah’s captain!” She sank to her knees and picked up the man’s head in her hands, uncharacteristically gentle. “Jenkins. Talk to me. C’mon.”

“We were attacked,” Jenkins gasped. “Something—an assassin—a beast—an animal.”

“Oh, God,” James whispered as Jenkins breathed his last and Jack looked up at James with his own fear in her eyes. “ _Duke._ ”

—

Jack swung off her horse only a few seconds after James slid from his, but he was already running around the wreckage, screaming for Duke. Jack was the first to notice the glint from one of the puddles of mixed rainwater and blood. “James!” she called, crouching to pick it up.

James took the chain from her hand, cradling the pendant in his hand. “I sent this to them last summer,” he said, his voice breaking for a second. His fist closed around the heart, and he was drawing in a breath to shout for Duke again when they both heard a groan.

“Queen Hannah!” James ran to her with Jack hot on his heels. “Hold on. We’ll bring you back—get you somewhere safe.”

“James.” Jack put a hand on his shoulder. “Nowhere’s gonna be safe for her. Look.” She nodded at the wide bloodstain on the queen’s abdomen.

“Who did this?” James asked.

“It came…so quickly,” Hannah breathed, reaching for his hand. “A great…animal.”

“Where’s Duke?” Jack demanded, panic making her voice hard.

“Listen to me, James. Jack.” Queen Hannah grabbed Jack’s hand. “It’s not what it seems. It’s not…”

“What’s not?” James asked. “Where’s Duke?”

“Duke?” The queen’s gaze was far away. “Duke…I’m so sorry, Duke…”

“Your Majesty!” James grabbed her other hand, but Hannah’s eyes had glazed over. No breath came from her lips.

The queen was dead.

“No. No, please!” James begged, pulling Hannah closer. “You can’t go. You have to tell us where Duke is.”

Jack was back to frantically searching the overturned carriage, the bodies of guards, as if one of them could be her lover. “Duke!” she screamed. “ _Duke!_ ”

Only a hand on her shoulder stopped her. She whipped around to find James behind her, reaching for her. “Jack,” he whispered. “I don’t…”

She fell into his arms, and both of them finally let their tears fall as the rain soaked them.

—

“Don’t let my spell upset you,” the Illusive Man told the swan, even as it swam dejectedly away from him and from the crumbs Kai Leng threw tauntingly into the water. “It doesn’t even last the whole day. Look—as soon as the moon comes up…”

Light and water swirled around the swan, and when the light faded and the water pooled back into the lake, Duke stood there in the swan’s place, staring down at themself once again.

“And that’s how it works every night,” the Illusive Man finished as Duke started for the shore again. “You have to be on the lake, and when the moonlight touches your wings…” He trailed off, noting that Duke still wasn’t looking at him. “I take no pleasure in this, Duke. I only want your mother’s kingdom.”

“Then take it,” Duke answered quietly. “You have the power, and with me here…there’s nothing in your way.”

“I tried that once,” the Illusive Man replied. “Once you steal something, you spend your whole life fighting to keep it. But if you acquire it legally…”

“And how would you do that?” Duke demanded.

“By marrying the only heir to the throne.”

Duke recoiled from the hand he placed on their shoulder. “No!”

“Where are you going?” the Illusive Man asked, deceptively calm. “As soon as that moonlight leaves the lake, you’ll turn back into a swan. And for this—it doesn’t matter where you are.”

Duke finally turned to look at the Illusive Man and Kai Leng behind them, despair beginning its white bloom over their face. “You don’t mean…”

The Illusive Man smiled sardonically at their shock. “Until I know you’ll marry me, you’re stuck here.”


	2. The Swan

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A year later. None of them has forgotten.

“Your Majesty, you know he won’t give up on Duke,” the captain of the guard told King Emilio for the tenth time.

“He’ll have to, Zaeed,” Emilio answered. “I know it’s hard for him, but sometimes…a lost love stays lost.”

“He and Jack are convinced otherwise.”

Emilio heaved a sigh. “Jack. Do you think she’ll ever be ready to be promoted to your place?”

“She’d be ready now, Your Majesty, if we let her go at her own pace. Force never works with her.”

“I hate to say it, but you’re getting old, Massani.”

“Pardon the insolence, Your Majesty, but so’re you.”

Emilio gave Zaeed a tired smile over his shoulder. “After all we went through to make sure James wouldn’t have to suffer an arranged marriage…”

“What’re you planning, Your Majesty?”

“A ball,” Emilio answered. “It’s been on my mind for a while. We can at least let James choose his bride, even if Duke isn’t among the choices.”

“And I assume Jack wouldn’t be either.”

“No, Zaeed. I’m sorry. I know she loved Duke as much as James did, and I know she and James love each other, but…she’s still a commoner.” Emilio turned. “Send for Lawson; I’ll need her help to arrange this.”

“Jack’ll be even more angry if it’s Lawson arranging it,” Zaeed warned.

“I know,” Emilio replied. “But we’re desperate. I want to make sure my kingdom will be safe when I’m gone.”

—

“Sure you’re ready?” James called.

“As ready as you are, Prince,” Jack shot back, nocking her arrow to the bowstring. “You just memorize where that apple’s sitting so you can hit it with my arrow.” She nodded to the lowest battlement, where a perfect apple gleamed in the sun. “Now turn your back, hotshot. You know the rules. You don’t get to look until I say ‘now.’”

“Just don’t miss,” James told her as he turned away from her, bow in hand.

“Do I ever?” she asked.

James closed his eyes, listening for the faint sounds: the creak of Jack’s bow drawing back, her breathing as she aimed at his back.

“Now!”

One heartbeat after Jack’s shout, James whipped around, grabbing the arrow she’d fired right out of the air, nocking it to his own bow, aiming for the apple, and releasing, all in the space of a breath.

The two halves of the apple fell from the wall, and Jack whistled appreciatively as she started toward him. “Not bad, Prince. I think you did it quicker last time, though.”

James only laughed a little before he turned away, his face falling once again. “Hey,” Jack said softly, putting her hand on his shoulder once she reached him. “I miss them, too.”

“We’re gonna get them back,” James said. “Right?”

“Of course,” Jack promised. “We’ll keep practicing until we know we can beat anything that comes at us.” She managed a smile for James. “Even if it’s Duke themself.” She tugged at his hand. “C’mon, Prince. Spar with me.”

James let Jack pull him along with her when he saw his own sadness reflected in her eyes.

—

“Would you _quit_ trying to eat my friends?”

The crocodile reeled at the sudden pain; Duke’s foot had come out of nowhere to stomp down on its nose. “If I see you trying for Mordin _one_ more time…” Duke growled as the crocodile shrank back into the moat.

“Thank you, Duke!” the frog piped. “Nearly had me that time. Would have fended off, certainly.”

“Of course,” Duke said with no sincerity in their voice. “Wrex, was he trying to cross the moat again?”

“Yup,” the snapping turtle answered, unperturbed.

“Mordin.” Reproach colored Duke’s tone as they crossed their arms, but Mordin stayed unperturbed.

“Must find way to break spell!” he told them. “Illusive Man lives in castle, therefore—will find counterspell in castle.”

“Morden, I already know how to break my spell.” Duke sat beside him, drawing their knees up to their chest. “It’s just…hard.”

Wrex plodded over, sinking down next to Duke. “I know, kid,” he murmured.

“How is he supposed to make that vow of love to me if he doesn’t even know where I am?” Duke asked dejectedly. “If _I_ don’t even know where I am? It’s been a year, and…and I don’t know where anything is outside this castle. What if I forget about everything outside?”

“Way you tell it, you there’re meant for each other,” Wrex said. “You won’t forget. If you do, something’ll drop into your life that’ll remind you of them.”

A screech was their only warning before a bird dropped and hit the ground in front of Duke’s feet. They swore in a most un-royal fashion before leaning forward. “It’s not dead, is it?”

“No, not dead,” Mordin answered, hopping over to investigate. “Arrow stuck in wing. See?” He held up the bird’s injured wing. “Strange-looking, though. Blue markings on face. Never seen this kind before.”

“Must be a long way from home, then,” Duke said. “Wrex, can you hold him?”

“Sure.” Wrex plopped himself down on top of the bird, leaving the wing out. “Ready.”

“One, two—three!” Duke snapped the arrow and yanked it from the wing, ripping a strip from the bottom of their shirt to make a bandage as the bird yelped in pain. No sooner had they hastily wrapped the bandage than the bird burst out from under Wrex, looking wildly around for a few seconds before relaxing.

“It takes more than that to keep a Vakarian down!” the bird squawked, kicking his bony legs out at Wrex and Mordin.

“We’re trying to help you, genius!” Duke said over him.

“Help me? You have an arrow in your hand looking remarkably similar to the one in my—” The bird stopped dead at the sight of his own bandaged wing. “Oh.”

Duke wiggled the broken arrow in their hand, eyebrows raised. “Pulled it out.”

“You had a chance to kill me—and you didn’t?”

“Why would I kill you?” Duke asked flatly.

“Oh. My apologies.” The bird made a fine salute with its uninjured wing. “Garrus Vakarian.”

“Duke,” they replied, amused. “And these lunks are Wrex and Mordin.”

“I owe you, Duke,” Garrus said sincerely. “I’ll stick around with you until that debt’s paid.”

“Doubt there’s much you can do to pay it, but it’d be nice if you stuck around. Be nice to have someone to fly with.”

“You don’t have wings.”

“I do during the day.” Duke shrugged. “Magic spell. I turn into a swan.”

“Magic, like…” Garrus twiddled his wing at the ground in a meager imitation of casting—and flowers popped up. He stared at his own wing, impressed by his newfound ability, even as Duke sighed and stood up.

“You guys better hide,” they said reluctantly. “He’s coming.”

“Who’s coming?” Garrus demanded as the ruins around them turned to shimmering gold. Wrex and Mordin grabbed him and dragged him away as a figure stepped out from behind an arch.

“Why do you even try anymore?” Duke asked as the Illusive Man approached, Kai Leng behind him like a menacing shadow.

“All it takes is one little word, Duke,” he answered. “Will you marry me?”

“Why keep asking? You know my answer: I’d let you kill me first.”

“You’re really starting to get on my nerves,” he warned.

“Sorry, can’t hear you, ears clogged with bullshit,” Duke answered carelessly.

“Keep pushing,” the Illusive Man invited dangerously. “Someday I might take you up on that offer.”

“Go right ahead,” Duke answered, marching up to him, fury in their face. “I’m never giving you my mother’s kingdom—or myself.”

“Looks like you need another day to think about it.” The Illusive Man pointed to the crescent moon as it began to sink beneath the trees, and his laughter followed a dejected Duke back to the lake. Light and water rose and faded, and only the swan was left in Duke’s place as the Illusive Man once again disappeared.

—

“Jack!”

A call of her name was always a welcome distraction from sentry duty, especially when it was James calling her. “Prince,” she greeted him, turning on the battlement.

“I’ve found it!” His eyes were brighter than she’d seen them since the night Duke disappeared. “I know what it is.”

“The great animal?”

“‘It’s not what it seems,’” James quoted. “What seems like one thing, but can become another in a second?”

“I don’t know.”

“A shapeshifter, Jack. It was a shapeshifter that took Duke.”

“A shapeshifter,” Jack breathed. “Of course!” She grinned, her own eyes alight now. “I’m sure you’re thinking the same thing I am.”

“We’re going on a hunt,” James confirmed.

—

“Map!” Mordin blurted.

“What?” Duke asked, bewildered.

“Map of where we are. Illusive Man certainly has one. Find map, fly to Emilio’s kingdom, find James and Jack, bring here. Turn human—and break spell.”

“Seems like a long shot,” Duke said doubtfully.

“Wrex’s only idea has been charging the castle in a direct frontal assault,” Garrus said dryly. “So far, the map’s the best any of us has come up with. I’ll fly up and try and see through the windows.”

“I’ll go with you, then.” Duke spread their wings, a little hesitant. “Just…look out for Kai Leng.”

“Kai Leng?” Garrus repeated.

“The Illusive Man’s servant.” A shiver ran through Duke. “Sometimes I’m more scared of him than of his master.”

“He’s not gonna get you, kid,” Wrex growled. “Not while I’m around.”

Duke gave him an affectionate poke with their beak. “My hero.”

“Shall we?” Garrus spread his own wings, flapping off the ground.

“Let’s go.” Duke swept off the lake, leaving droplets of water raining behind them to glitter in the sun.

—

“His top room! It’s in the upper room!” Duke splashed on their clumsy landing, their breath coming fast. “The map’s hanging on the wall up there.”

“Where’s Garrus?” Wrex asked, swimming out toward them.

“He’s getting the map. Kai Leng saw me, so I led him away from the castle. I think I lost him, but—”

“Duke!”

They looked up with a gasp. “Garrus! Dive!”

He obeyed immediately, just in time to avoid the arrow Kai Leng fired at him piercing the roll of parchment clutched in his talons.

“Duke, help him!” Wrex urged.

“I—can’t,” Duke forced out, their eyes still on Kai Leng as he bared his teeth and nocked another arrow.

“The master’s getting fed up with waiting, you know,” he called, drawing his bow. “A few more ‘no’s’ and he won’t mind if I kill you, little bird.”

Duke could only stare, their body refusing to obey them, gaze honed on the point of the arrow aimed straight at their heart, as Kai Leng held it there, a taunt, a threat—

He yelled, the bowstring going slack; he looked down to see Wrex running back to the lake as fast as his short legs could carry him, his beak bloodied slightly from snapping at Kai Leng’s heel. “Go!” Wrex shouted. “Garrus, take Duke and the map and _go!_ ”

A sudden weight landed on Duke’s back. “We need to leave, now!” Garrus ordered, and in a second he had pushed off their back again.

With a last look back at Wrex and Mordin disappearing under the water and Kai Leng shouting and limping, drawing his bow once again, Duke lifted off from the water, following Garrus into the afternoon sky.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> short chapter bc it was going to be either two short chapters or one super-long one. next chapter has some Juicy Stuff, i promise


	3. The Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hunt for the great animal is on!

James slipped off his horse. “Here,” he murmured. “I can feel it.”

“I can feel _something_ ,” Jack answered as she dismounted and readied her bow. “It might just be these woods.” She didn’t have to voice why; she knew perfectly well James had chosen this path for the very reason that it was the one Queen Hannah’s carriage had taken on the night Duke disappeared. “How will we know it when we see it?”

“We’ll know,” James answered darkly. “Stay close.”

“I can take care of myself, Prince.”

James bit back an _I can’t lose you too._ Jack would only be insulted. Instead, he took an arrow from his quiver and nocked it to the string, holding it gentle and ready. Carefully, together, they started into the woods.

For many tense minutes, their only comfort was the warmth of each other’s shoulders and the soft sounds of each other’s breathing, as quiet as possible.

Then—a heartbeat of pure silence—

The forest erupted into noise. James and Jack swung around, bows drawn, looking wildly for their target.

A glint caught Jack’s eye. “There! James!” she shouted, whirling to aim at it.

A swan was flying above them, the late afternoon sun shining on its feathers. Jack sighted, squinting against the light. “A little closer, I dare you,” she murmured.

“This one’s for Duke!” An arrow whizzed past Jack from James’s bow.

“Too hasty, Prince,” she snarled as the swan _dodged_ the arrow flying past and wheeled around to flee. “But that thing’s too smart to be a normal swan. That’s gotta be it. Come on!” She vaulted the fallen log and ran after the bird.

It was easy enough to follow the swan; the lowering sun through the trees still reflected off its wings, and a lone swan with only a strange, smaller bird for company was an uncommon sight in these skies. Jack kept her eyes on her prize, adrenaline rising in her at the thought of defeating the thing that had taken her Duke from her.

“We have to be back for the ball tomorrow night,” James reminded her after an hour of chasing, as they ducked behind a tree to gasp for breath.

“I don’t give a damn,” Jack growled. “Not for Lawson, not for her ball, not for anything except killing that _thing_!”

“Jack.” James put the hand not holding his bow on her shoulder. “We’re going to. We’re avenging Duke, I promise. But I promised my uncle I’d be back for the ball.” He grinned to try and reassure her. “I just meant we’ll have to hurry up.”

“Now you’re talking.” Jack leaned in for a quick kiss before darting out from behind the tree once more, James hot on her heels.

The sun was setting and the sky turning vivid colors by the time Jack and James burst from the trees, looking desperately around for the two birds. “There!” James shouted, drawing back his bow and aiming for the glint that was the swan.

“We’re too far!” Jack pushed his arm down. “Come on; we need to get closer!” She slid down the embankment and continued chasing after the faint glimmer in the sun. She could have sworn the bird was taunting them; every time they seemed to get close, it pulled ahead of them. “I’m not giving up, you bastard,” she snarled, picking up her speed once more.

As the sky fell into blue dusk, Jack and James stopped short. “Ruins?” James breathed.

“A castle,” Jack echoed, looking further than James. “What _is_ this place?”

“I don’t know,” James murmured, readying his bow once again, “but that swan’s landing.”

Jack dropped into a crouch, thumbing the fletching of the arrow laying across her own bow. “What’s that with it?”

“The bird we saw earlier?”

“No, not a bird. Looks like some kind of massive…turtle? I don’t—” She cut off as the swan lifted off once more, heading for a landing on the lake in front of them.

“One arrow for each of us,” James murmured. He glanced at Jack. “This is for Duke.”

“For Duke,” she agreed as the swan came to a soft landing in the shallows. “Now!”

In an instant, they both stood up and drew their arrows back, ready to kill the thing that had taken their Duke—

Light bathed them, lifting water from the lake to swirl around the swan. “It’s shifting!” James shouted. “Be ready!”

But they let their bowstrings slacken once more, disbelieving, as the light faded and the water fell.

“Hey, you two,” the figure standing in the water said. “Keeping each other out of trouble?”

“Leading each other into it,” Jack replied, as naturally as breathing, her eyes welling with tears and her bow slipping from her fingers. Somehow, she didn’t mind that her vision was blurring. She didn’t need to look clearly for more than a second to know who stood in the water smiling at them as she and James broke into a run.

Duke met them at the shore, wrapping an arm around each of them as tightly as Jack and James hugged them back. “Duke,” James breathed.

“I missed you so much,” Duke whispered. “I thought I’d never see you again.”

“We’re here,” Jack assured them, stroking their hair. It had grown out in the year apart. “We’re here. We found you.”

“No, _I_ found _you._ ” Even Duke’s attempt at teasing was choked up, but they were smiling helplessly through their tears as they pulled back to look at Jack and James. “I _missed_ you,” they said again.

Jack beat James to kissing Duke, reveling in the feel of their lips on hers for the first time in a year as she wrapped both arms around them. “No one believed us,” she said when they finally broke apart.

“But we knew you had to be alive,” James added as Duke turned to him. “And—here you are!” A surge of joy rushed through him at seeing Duke smile at him again, and he couldn’t stop himself from picking Duke up and swinging them around and around until he put them back on the ground and cupped their face in his hands for a kiss. He could taste tears; he didn’t know if they were his or Duke’s, and he didn’t care as he held them close, memorizing every little feeling: of their hands grabbing fistfuls of his shirt, the familiarity of their body clutched against his, even the coldness of the nose that tucked into the crook of his neck when the kiss broke.

“Duke?”

They jolted in James’s arms, pushing him away. “Shit.”

“What?” Jack demanded.

“He’s coming!” Duke hissed.

“Who?” James asked.

“You have to go!”

“Why?” Jack and James said in unison.

“Duke!” the distant voice called again.

“It’s him,” Duke whispered. “He…he has me under a spell.”

“Who does?” Jack snarled, turning to face the voice. “I’ll _kill_ him.”

“Jack, no,” Duke pleaded, grabbing her hand. “He’s too powerful. If he finds you here…”

“He can put me under a spell too, for all I care,” James growled, hand going to the sword at his hip.

“James, if he finds you here, he’ll kill you.” Duke took a deep breath. “You’re the two people in the world who can break this spell.”

Jack whirled back around. “How?” she demanded.

“A—a vow. Of everlasting love.”

“We’ll make it,” James promised. “You know we will! We’ll make it right now.”

“You…you have to prove it to the world.”

“How?” Jack asked again.

“I—I don’t know!” Duke admitted.

“Tomorrow night. The ball!” James interrupted. “Duke, can you come to my uncle’s castle tomorrow night?”

“I don’t—I don’t know—I’ll try! Go!”

“Duke!” The voice was getting closer still.

“I’m coming!” Duke shouted back. “Go!” they urged, pushing Jack and James toward the woods.

“Promise me!” James urged, turning back even as Jack waved him urgently after her.

“I—I will! Now go, James, _please!_ ” Duke begged.

James leaned in for one last quick, intense kiss and to press something into Duke’s hand before running into the trees after Jack.

He didn’t notice until he’d burst into a clearing that Jack wasn’t with him.

—

Duke opened their hand to find the tiny golden heart on a chain that James had sent them more than two years ago. _He kept it._

“Duke!”

“Yes!” They whirled around, hastily hiding the pendant in a fist behind their back.

“Didn’t you hear me calling?” the Illusive Man asked.

“I—no,” Duke lied, trying to figure out what was missing from the Illusive Man’s usual visit.

“Really? I thought I heard voices.”

“Voices?” Duke feigned innocence. “Well, I—I was—talking to myself. I do that—a lot.”

“Really?” The Illusive Man clicked his fingers. “You wouldn’t have been talking—to _her?_ ”

A cold stone fell into Duke’s stomach as Kai Leng melted into view—dragging a struggling Jack with him. Of course. Leng was what had been missing.

“You know I don’t allow intruders in my little domain, Duke,” the Illusive Man said, falsely pleasant as Duke stared, transfixed, at Kai Leng forcing Jack to her knees. “Now why did you go and let her in?” He raised his hand, and Leng raised a blade to Jack’s neck.

“Wait!” Duke blurted. “Don’t hurt her!”

“Oh?” The Illusive Man looked back at them. “And what incentive do I have to obey you?”

“I’ll—I’ll marry you.”

Jack lunged forward against Leng’s hands, a muffled scream escaping past his fingers. The Illusive Man ignored her, turning to look at Duke with his unnatural eyes brightening. “Oh, really?”

“I—yes. I’ll give you my mother’s kingdom. If that’s what you really want. Just…let Jack go.”

“Hmm…” The Illusive Man regarded them for a moment. “First…tell me something.”

“What?” Duke asked.

The Illusive Man pointed to the ground beside Duke. “Who does the other bow belong to?”

Duke stared down at the two bows—Jack’s and James’s—as Kai Leng laughed and their blood ran cold. “So, Duke,” the Illusive Man taunted. “You have plans for tomorrow night?”

Duke shook themself at the sight of the desperate apology in Jack’s eyes. “I do,” they said, proud of how their voice shook only a little.

The Illusive Man stormed at them and shoved them aside to scoop up the two bows. “You really thought you could fool me, did you?” With a snap of his fingers, the two bows flew past Duke to plunge into the lake.

“I will _never_ be yours,” Duke said in a snarl worthy of Jack. “I have _always_ been theirs, and I always will be!”

The Illusive Man snatched their wrist, forcing their fist open to find the pendant there. “I hate to inform you,” he said, his composure the closest to breaking that Duke had ever seen it as he snatched the golden heart out of their hand, “but you won’t be attending any ball tomorrow night!”

“You’ll have to kill me first,” Duke growled.

“No, I won’t,” he answered. “You see—tomorrow night…” he pointed up at the sliver of a crescent in the sky, “…there is no moon.”

As Duke stared in horror, the Illusive Man turned. “Bring her,” he ordered Kai Leng. “We’ll send Eva to keep the prince company instead.”

Leng was far from gentle in dragging Jack back to her feet, but at least he had to use both hands to do so. “Duke!” Jack shouted as soon as her mouth was free. “Duke, this is my vow! My vow of everlasting love!”

“Quiet!” Kai Leng snarled, pressing the blade to her throat again.

“I love you,” Jack whispered, keeping her eyes on Duke for as long as she could.

As soon as the three of them had disappeared into the trees, Duke sank to their knees, their tears falling for the second time that night.

—

James looked up at a rustle from the trees, his hand going automatically to his sword.

“Just me.” Jack stepped out of the woods, her hands raised in mock-surrender. “Sorry. I wanted to get a look at the guy holding Duke under that spell.”

“How’s he look?” James asked, relaxing.

“Scary as hell,” Jack answered frankly. “Got some creepy eyes.”

“He didn’t hear us, did he?”

“I don’t think so,” Jack said, taking the reins of her horse as James handed them to her. “He asked Duke to marry him. Sounded like he’d done it a lot.”

“They didn’t…”

“Of course they didn’t say yes,” Jack scoffed. “Come on, let’s get back.”

James mounted his horse as the false Jack gave one look back at the forest, a small, knowing smirk curving her lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the lord giveth and the lord taketh away. in this case, the lord is me.


	4. The Ball

“You’re mad at me again, aren’t you?” The Illusive Man didn’t sound very concerned as the swan floated sullenly in the flooded dungeon below him. “Here. Let’s give you some company to cheer you up.”

A door above swung open, and Jack tumbled out and down, Kai Leng’s laughter following her all the way until she landed with a splash below. As she swam desperately for the surface, she felt something clutch onto the back of her shirt and drag her upward. She broke the surface, coughing and retching, but the beak holding her shirt tugged her toward where a chain hung from the wall. Jack clutched it, shivering, as the swan let go of her, but stayed protectively near her as the Illusive Man sighed above them.

“Now, I hate to leave you without a proper goodbye, but if we don’t leave now, we’ll be late for the ball.” He snapped his fingers, and Kai Leng, standing in the other doorway, shimmered into a mirror image of Duke’s human form, wearing a black-and-red outfit. “Don’t give me that look,” the Illusive Man warned the swan. “This is your fault, you know. You brought your prince and your guard into this. When I get back, you can make good on that agreement of yours, hm?”

His window and Kai Leng’s door slammed shut, leaving Jack and the swan in darkness save for a single, low-burning torch. “Duke?” Jack asked. “That is you, right?”

The swan looked at her with the saddest eyes she had ever seen on an animal—Duke’s eyes, so sorrowful that Jack reached an arm out and wrapped it gently around the swan. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “If I hadn’t gotten caught…”

Duke nudged her with their beak: a reassurance? Jack couldn’t let herself be comforted, not when… “James is all alone. I don’t think he knows it, either. That… _monster_ made a copy of me to send after him, and now he’s taking a copy of you to the ball… Oh, no.” Jack withdrew an inch from Duke. “If he makes his vow to that copy…what happens?”

Duke turning away was all the answer Jack needed. “No, no, no!” Jack reached for Duke again. “We’ll fix this. I won’t let it happen. I _won’t._ If I can prove my vow to the world before James makes his to that…that… _ugh_ …the spell will be broken, right? We just…have to find a way…out.” Even as she said them, she realized the hopelessness in her own words.

Duke nuzzled their head into Jack’s neck as Jack wrapped her arm around them again. “I’m here,” Jack whispered. “At least we’re together.” It was a small comfort in the face of the torch above them sputtering out.

—

“Uncle—”

“James,” Emilio cut him off sternly. “I am getting old, and since your mother passed on, you have been my only heir. I need to know my succession is safe. I need you to have a wife, not a dream you chase in every free moment.”

“It’s not a dream, Uncle, if you’d just _listen_ —Jack! Help me here!”

She shook her head, giving only a glance to the king before averting her eyes. James glared at her. She’d never been afraid to speak her mind before, _especially_ when she knew she was right, _especially_ when she knew it would get her into an argument with Lawson. Why now, when it was about the most important—

“James!”

His attention snapped back to Emilio. “Tonight, I need you to at least consider some of them.”

“There’s _one_ I’ll consider,” James said firmly. “One who’ll be here tonight.”

Emilio’s expression softened. “Really?”

“Really.” James took his uncle’s hands in his. “Watch tonight. You’ll know when you see.”

Emilio’s eyes crinkled with a smile that lifted his graying beard. “James.” He gently pulled his nephew’s head down to kiss his forehead. “Shall we?”

James grinned over his shoulder at Jack as he followed the king toward the ballroom, too dizzy with excitement to notice that her answering smile was a split second too late.

—

Jack was starting to shiver. Duke pushed themself as close as they could, desperate to warm her and knowing that a swan’s heat couldn’t do much for a human’s. But Jack gave them a wan attempt at a smile through her chattering teeth anyway. “This is—is nothing—Duke,” she said, trying for a confidence that her shaky voice ruined. “I’m fine. You just—just think about how to get us—out of here.”

Duke just pushed their head into the crook of Jack’s neck. After a second, her hand came to rest at the back of their head. “I love you, Duke,” she said. “I really do.”

The moment was broken by a Duke letting out a surprised honk and reeling backward. “Shh!” an urgent voice whispered.

“ _Mordin?_ ” Duke gasped. “What are you—How—”

“Hole into moat! No time to explain! Wrex making hole bigger as we speak. Garrus distracting crocodiles! Need to get out, Duke.”

“I could _kiss_ you, Mordin. Remind me to when I’ve got lips again.” Duke swam back to where Jack still hung onto the chain and tugged at her shirt.

“What? What is it?” Jack demanded. “Duke?”

Duke tugged harder, desperate to make Jack understand—there was a _chance!_

“Duke, I’m slipping—!”

Jack’s hand slid off the chain, and Duke kept tugging. “Duke, what in the—” Jack cut off to gasp a breath before she submerged, kicking to keep up with the swan yanking on her sleeve. She managed to open her eyes to a blurred, underwater world—and a definite gap in the grey of the stone wall.

Duke pushed Jack forward with their head, and Jack swam dubiously forward toward the gap, praying she would fit. Duke’s head pressed against one of her feet, and she felt something else tug on her sleeve, she wriggled when the edges of the hole caught against her belt—

She was through. She kicked as hard as she could in the direction with less pressure on her lungs, which begged for air—and she broke the surface, gasping, even as Duke honked frantically.

Then she heard the growling. She turned in the water, yelling a curse when she saw two massive crocodiles bearing down on her. Despite her lungs screaming at her for air, she sprinted for the opposite shore, noting the snapping turtle that stayed behind to bite one of the crocodiles on the tail. The other one…wasn’t going for Jack. It veered off, and Jack swore again when she saw Duke splashing just ahead of it. “Oh, no, you _don’t!_ ” She lunged and grabbed the crocodile’s tail at the last second, managing with desperate strength to pull herself onto its back. Locking her legs around the writhing reptile, she clasped her hands, raised them above her head, and brought them crashing down on the crocodile’s snout. “Fly!” she shouted at Duke, sliding off the stunned crocodile’s back and swimming desperately for shore. She shoved herself out of the water, charging for the woods, as Duke lifted off in a graceful flurry of white. Jack spared a glance upward at them just before she passed under the first of the trees, praying they wouldn’t be too late.

—

James shot another look at Jack, confused. _She’s not even antagonizing Lawson… Is she just excited for Duke to show up?_ He decided that that was the reason. The ball _was_ nice; he couldn’t deny it. Lawson had outdone herself. It would just be a lot nicer when Duke arrived.

Princess after lady after duchess was being marched past him and his uncle, flirting with their batting eyes, their fluttering hands, their coquettish steps. James felt a little sorry for them. None of them knew that his heart was already set.

_Boom._

The ballroom fell suddenly silent save for the echo of that knock on the huge double door. James looked up, daring to hope—

Lawson gave one worried glance to King Emilio before striding to the door—an impressive feat in her high heels—and pulling it open.

And in walked Duke, in a lovely outfit of black and crimson, proudly wearing the gold heart pendant around their neck.

James was descending the steps from the dais before he knew what he was doing, barely aware of Emilio standing up and the gasps and murmurs breaking out among the guests. He didn’t even notice he was smiling until he stood in front of Duke. “I knew you’d come.”

“Nothing could stop me,” Duke answered.

James remembered himself and bowed, extending his hand. “Will you dance with me?”

Duke bowed back before accepting the hand. “Of course.”

The band was clearly paying attention; the music struck up soft, graceful. _Swan-like,_ James thought with a flutter of joy in his chest. Duke was as smooth on their feet as ever, letting Jack whirl them around with ease and smiling winningly whenever they met a guest’s stunned gaze. It was a few minutes of dancing, of feeling giddy and lightheaded at twirling Duke for the first time since their engagement ball, before he remembered that all was not right yet.

James paused and gave a glance to Lawson and then to the orchestra. She nodded and discreetly tapped the conductor on the shoulder and signaled for him to cut the music short. James pulled Duke to a slow stop. “You made good on your promise,” he murmured. “Now I make good on mine.” He turned to their audience of guests, keeping Duke’s hand in his. “Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests—tonight…tonight, my best treasure is returned to me. I present to you the future co-ruler of our kingdom. And as proof of my love—I’m making a vow, before you and the entire world. A vow of everlasting love—to my Duke.”

Every light went out.

—

Jack hammered at the door to the castle, her breath heaving out of her in gasps. She kept glancing up, making sure Duke was still flying around the castle, that they were still trying to find an open window.

Finally, the door opened just enough for Jack to see a disdainful footman looking her up and down. “Can I help you?”

“You can get out of my way and let me see Prince James,” Jack answered him matter-of-factly.

“And—who are you?”

“I’m Jack, you son of a bitch; now let me in!”

“Jack who?” he asked.

“Jacqueline fucking Nought, Zaeed Massani’s kid and one of the people who guards this fucking castle, and I need to see Prince James _now,_ I—” She broke off and looked up at a flash of white at the edge of her vision.

Duke was falling.

“Get out of my way. _Now,_ ” Jack snarled at the footman, even as her heart fell into her stomach.

“I’m sorry, but Miss Nought is already within the castle, so you’d have better luck trying to impersonate someone else.” The footman began to close the door with a smug smile.

Jack stopped him, throwing her shoulder against the door to force it back open and force her way in. She managed one glance back to see the swan making an effort to fly back the way they had come before she turned to glare at the footman once more. “That was not a request. It was an order.” She drew back her fist and slammed it into his jaw. Her momentum continued forward as she charged for the grand ballroom, praying hopelessly that she wasn’t too late.

—

The doors boomed open, and in strode someone James had never seen. Instinct told him to hide Duke behind himself as he demanded, “Who are you?”

“Hello, little prince,” the newcomer said, mock-pleasant. “You’ve made a mistake, I see.”

“What are you talking about?”

“You went and pledged your love to another.”

“What? I just made that vow to Duke!”

“No. Duke—is mine.”

“It’s _you,_ ” James realized. “You don’t have any power here! I made that vow; you can’t touch them anymore!”

“Try me.” The man raised his hand, and a bolt of fire shot past James and knocked Duke to the floor.

“Duke!” James dropped to crouch by them, picking them gently up. “Duke. Talk to me, Duke, please!”

Duke’s eyes snapped open. “Hello, prince,” they said in a voice that was _not_ Duke’s.

James dropped the body and stumbled back as it shimmered into the form of a lean, dark-haired man who raised a knife. “What the—”

“HEY!” Someone rushed by James, tackling the man to the ground.

“Jack?” James gasped. “But—” He looked back and forth between the immaculate Jack in a gown on the dais and the bedraggled and furious Jack in hunting clothes with the assassin pinned to the floor.

The ragged Jack drew back her fist and slammed it down into the assassin’s face before she tore the knife from its sheath across the back of her waist and plunged it home in his chest. She yanked it back out, stabbing again and again as the sorcerer behind them yelled in fury.

The other Jack was there now, but the real Jack—it was definitely her; that bare-toothed snarl wouldn’t look at home on any other face—was ready for her, whirling as she stood and slashed, opening a wide gash of red across the other Jack’s throat. The gowned Jack shimmered too—and turned to stone as she fell. “Fuck you,” Jack snarled at the impostor, crouching to look her in one granite eye. “You don’t get to wear my face like—” She cut off into a yell as a hand dragged her up by her ponytail.

“Insolent girl,” the sorcerer snarled, holding Jack’s face offensively close to his. “I could kill you for that, but I think you’ll have punishment enough. You were too late!”

Jack spat at him.

The sorcerer dropped her, laughing even as he wiped her saliva off his face. “You should have left Duke to me. Now—now, they die.” Still laughing, he melted into a great black bird—a swan, a mockery of Duke’s form—and flew out the doors again.

“No,” Jack growled, picking herself up off the ground once more. “No, they don’t.”

James stayed on his knees, staring into thin air as he felt everything crash invisibly down around him. “I killed Duke,” he gasped numbly. “I killed—”

“We’re following him,” Jack said shortly, holding out her hand to him. “I won’t let Duke die.” He hesitated, and she let out a frustrated noise, grabbing his hand and yanking him to his feet. “We won’t let Duke die. James.” She pulled his head down to press against hers. “I won’t give up. I can’t. I _can’t._ And I won’t let you either.”

“Jack.”

She turned, letting go of James. “Zaeed. Sorry to run off on you again.”

Her father snorted. “Like I expect anything else from you.” He jerked his chin at the door. “Get going, then.”

James looked to Emilio, who still stood on the dais, shaking his head. “Uncle?”

“I was wrong, James. About Duke being beyond our help,” the king said, drawing himself up and bringing a stern note into his voice. “Don’t make me right.”


	5. The Great Animal

Shocked squawking roused Wrex from his doze. “Shut up, Garrus,” he muttered, his eyes closing again once he located the source of the alarm.

“Wrex! Look! Duke, flying toward lake!”

That woke him the rest of the way. “They’re coming back?” he wondered aloud, pushing himself to all four feet as the swan resolved itself in his vision. “As a swan…”

“Won’t make it,” Mordin said tersely, even as Garrus positioned himself under Duke, putting as much power as he could into his upstrokes to keep them aloft. Somehow, he got them past the lake and to the stone gazebo beyond. He slipped out from beneath them just in time to let them make the softest landing he could give them.

“Duke?” Garrus asked as Wrex and Mordin hurried over. “Come on, Duke, talk to me. Please.”

Their unconscious body’s only answer was to shimmer back into human form.

“Duke,” Wrex murmured, nudging them with his beak. “Come on, kid. Don’t go out like this. I still gotta teach you to be a warrior…” Even Mordin was quiet, listening at Duke’s mouth for breath that never came.

“Duke!”

“ _Duke!_ ”

The three of them turned to see two humans crashing out of the undergrowth. “Duke!” James shouted again, but Jack grabbed his arm, as much to catch his attention as to support her suddenly shaking legs.

“James.” Her voice trembled on his name as she stared at the body on the ground. She tried to say more, but the only thing that escaped her was a gasping breath that was terribly close to a sob.

“No,” James breathed, transfixed on the sight of his Duke horribly still on the ground. “Oh, God.” His voice rose to a tortured shout as his feet carried him toward Duke without him realizing it. “Oh, God, _Duke!_ ”

James didn’t feel the fabric on his knees tear as he all but skidded to kneel beside Duke and pull them up from the ground. “Duke, come on. Come on. Don’t…”

“Duke, please,” Jack whispered, kneeling on Duke’s other side and hugging them, pressing them between her and James as if the closeness on either side would wake them. “Please.”

“James? Jack?”

The voice was weak, but it was definitely coming from between them. “Duke,” James gasped. “C’mon, talk to me. Duke.”

“James, I…I’m so tired…”

“Don’t fall asleep,” Jack said, desperation making her voice harsh.

Duke made an attempt at a smile. “Was that…an order…? I’m royalty, Jack…”

“Not when I’m holding you, you’re not,” Jack whispered. “Come on, Duke…stay with us.”

“Sorry, I…I don’t think…”

“I’m the one who’s sorry,” James said brokenly. “I swear that vow was for you, Duke, I…I didn’t know.”

“Shh…” Duke murmured. “It’s okay, James. I know. I love you too. Both of you.”

“Forgive me,” James choked out as Duke’s eyes closed.

“Don’t fall asleep, Duke!” Jack said frantically, nearly drowning out Duke’s last, soft words:

“I forgive you.”

Jack felt Duke go very still between her and James, and something shattered in her. “Duke? Duke! _Duke!_ ” No answer, and Jack bolted to her feet, whirling as if to find the one responsible. “ _No!_ ” she roared. “You _don’t_ get to do this! You don’t get to take them from us! Not when we just found them again! You fucking _don’t!_ ”

James stayed still on the ground, still holding Duke to his chest. “Don’t go,” he pleaded, disbelieving of the silent weight resting against him. “Don’t go, Duke.”

“Show yourself!” Jack screamed at the trees, not caring that she had no weapon besides herself. “Show yourself, you fucking coward! Fight me! You don’t get to do that and walk away alive! You don’t get to take—” Her voice broke, and she fell to her knees once again, grief washing over her, pushing her down until she rested on her hands too, trying desperately to hold back tears that insisted on being shed. “You don’t get to take my Duke from me again.”

“Don’t go, Duke,” James said again, still numb. “I haven’t said I love you yet.”

A single pair of hands began to applaud. “Oh, my… What a scene. Very touching.”

Jack’s head snapped up, and she launched herself to her feet, barely even registering the sorcerer’s face before she was lunging for him, drawing her hunting dagger—and barely registering that she was moving before she was brought to a vicious halt by the sorcerer’s hand closing around her wrist. His grip was steel—stronger than either her or the steel in her hand, as evidenced when he shattered the blade in his other hand.

Another blade touched his throat, and the Illusive Man looked past a suddenly still Jack to find James, sword outstretched and rock-steady. The Illusive Man regarded him disdainfully. “And what do you want, little prince?”

“Let them go,” James ordered. “Let _both_ of them go.”

“Or what?” the Illusive Man taunted back.

“Or you die.”

“That won’t bring your precious Duke back, you know,” the sorcerer warned, still with his grip on Jack.

“I know. They’d want to avenge themself, but since they can’t, I will.”

A smile curled the Illusive Man’s lips. “Very well. If you’re so determined.” With one careless movement disproportionate to his size, he flung Jack to the side.

James had no time to worry for her; the Illusive Man was shifting and changing before his eyes—into a dragon with long, serrated fangs and massive, membranous wings with vicious claws at every fingertip. “A great animal,” James whispered, the last piece falling into place.

“ _Now_ fight me, little prince!” the beast roared in the Illusive Man’s voice, dark gray smoke billowing from his mouth.

James faltered for only a split second before he saw, out of the corner of his eye, Jack pushing herself up from the ground with a pained groan—and Duke’s mortally still form. He tightened his grip on his sword. “So you can only fight me if you’re twice my size? I don’t know if that’s a compliment—or just you being a coward!” He lunged—and the dragon knocked him away with one sweep of its wing.

“Neither—I just like playing with my food,” the dragon sneered at him.

James rolled back to his feet, his left shoulder silently screeching in protest from where he had landed on it, and attacked again.

Jack’s ribs made a similar argument as she steadied herself against the tree she’d slammed into when the Illusive Man threw her. She heard a shout of pain, and she vaguely registered herself saying, “James?”

The creature had him pinned and was rearing its long neck back to release something lethal. Jack didn’t think, but sprinted at the dragon, slamming into its side with enough force to knock it off of James. “Thanks,” James panted as he hauled himself to his feet once again. His sword was gone, and Jack didn’t have time to look for it as she and James threw themselves in opposite directions to avoid the dragon. It veered to the left and snatched James in its clawed feet, carrying him up into the air, as Jack noticed glinting metal near her hand—the shattered remains of James’s sword.

She rolled onto her back to see the dragon carrying James up, up, too high, far too high. It was going to drop him, and all she could do was watch. She couldn’t even find her voice to shout _don’t._

Something nudged her hand, and she looked beside her to find the snapping turtle who had helped her escape the dungeon holding a bow in its beak—her bow. It butted her arm again, more urgently, and dropped her bow beside her hand. She snatched it up, but she realized, “I need arrows.”

The turtle almost seemed to nod before it turned and ran away as fast as its short legs could carry it. A wind ruffled her hair as she strung her bow, and she looked up to see a bird with another bow clutched in its talons swooping by and rising—not fast enough.

The dragon dropped James.

The bird switched directions and streaked down after him, but tugging on him with its talons only brought it down faster with him. “ _James!_ ” Jack screamed, the only thing she could do with an empty bow in her hand.

James hit branches on his way down, letting out a cry at each one. It was his silence as he hit the ground that made Jack’s dread rise to her throat. “James!” she said again, even as the bird buffeted him with its wings, screeching.

Something nudged her ankle, and she looked down to find a frog croaking insistently at her, two arrows in its wide mouth. She snatched one of the arrows up and nocked it, aiming for the beast that was diving at James again, and released.

The arrow bounced off its scales, and it pulled up to look at her, making an awful, shrieking imitation of a human laugh before diving toward James once again.

“James!”

The shout of his name stabbed its way into his dark, aching mind, carving a pathway for an insistent screech and the feeling of being pummeled by wind to reach him. He forced his eyes open to find a bird in front of him, beating its wings at him and shrieking. When it saw he was awake, it landed, cocked its head to look at him with its black eyes, and raised one of its feet to display what it had brought to him: his bow.

James snatched the bow up and reached for his quiver—and felt nothing. A howl of triumph sounded above him, and he looked up to find the dragon extending its claws toward him, fangs bared in a vicious grin. He raised an arm to ineffectually protect himself—

“James! Now!”

He responded instinctually to that shout, whipping around and snatching out of the air the arrow Jack had fired for him. He nocked it to his bow, aimed for the dragon’s underbelly, and fired.

A terrible, drawn-out sound of agony poured from the dragon’s maw as it fell to earth, the arrow lodged in its chest. It crumpled there and shimmered, turning back into the sorcerer. James took a cautious step toward him—

The Illusive Man lunged back to his feet, his hand closing around James’s throat. “I—will not—be defeated!” he snarled. His face was mangled; it looked like it was turning to metal or stone. Shiny black lines crept up from his jaw, their light matching the unnatural glow in his eyes. “If I kill you—I still win!”

“James!” Jack screamed once again, reaching for another arrow—she had none. She ran at the Illusive Man once again, not knowing what she would do—

James dropped to the ground, throat suddenly released, as the Illusive Man went rigid. “Then you’re not going to win,” a new voice growled. There was the sound of a blade being yanked from flesh, the Illusive Man toppled to the ground—

And there stood Duke, breath heaving, the hilt and nine inches of James’s broken sword in their hand, looking down at their captor as if expecting him to jump to his feet once more.

The sorcerer stayed still, his blood pooling around him, eyes wide open with the vestiges of surprise and pain—the last things he had felt.

“Duke?” James breathed.

They looked at him, their eyes lighting up. “James! I’m alive!” They let out a laugh. “I’m alive!”

“But—how? I…the vow…”

“You must have proven your love.” Duke shrugged, still smiling.

“But I didn’t…we didn’t…”

“You defeated a sorcerer for me,” Duke said, holding their hand out to help James up. “I think that counts.”

James ignored the hand and jumped to his feet, pulling Duke into a hug just as Jack slammed into them from the other side. “I love you,” James said into Duke’s hair. “I always have. For your courage, for your spirit—”

“And for every time you gave him a bloody nose,” Jack finished with a grin. “I love you too, Duke. For your kindness, your smile—”

“And for every time you’ve beaten her in a fight.” James tightened his arms around both of them. “I love you. I love you.”

“I love you too,” Duke said, turning to get their arms around both Jack and James. “Everlastingly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cute epilogue incoming when i get it written


End file.
